Eureka! Institutional Repository

Leishmaniasis is a vector-born disease transmitted by sandflies and caused by the parasitic protozoa of the genus Leshmania. This parasite has a amastigote and promastigote form. The sandfly is very small 1-4mm and it lives and grows in dark places, tree trunks, caves, wells etc. According to epidemiological data there are 12 different species of sandflies that drink blood from humans, canids and other animals and can transmit the disease. Leishmaniasis has spread to South Europe, Africa, Asia, South and Central America and sporadically in the U.S.A. In the last 10 years the endemic region has grown and as a result the number of new cases has increased. Visceral Leishmaniasis has more than 310 million cases, whereas Cutaneous Leishmaniasis has 0,7-1,2 million cases in humans worldwide. MucocutaneousLeishmaniasis is the rarest form of the disease. People who have been infected by this disease are obliged to report it. According to epidemiological data of KEE ΛΠΝΟ there have been reported 644 cases from 2004 to 2014. The parasite’s lifecycle includes two stages. In the first stage the sandfly receives from a vector the amastigote form of the parasite which is transformed, in the sandfly’s gut, into its promastigote form. Then, when the infected sandfly is having a blood meal from a healthy animal, it transfers the promastigote form of the parasite to the animal. The immune reaction will show if the dog is resistant to the parasite or if it will have an active infection. Each form of the disease has many and varied symptoms. There are many methods and means for diagnosing the disease and preventing it from infecting animals. Finally a variety of drugs have been tested in order to treat the disease and some of them have had very positive results.